Feature
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Tiny Bubbles
Microscopic vesicles shed by cells may help the AIDS virus, benefit cancer cells, and drive the immune response.
- Tech
Wings of Change
Inspired by the Wright brothers, who steered their first flyer by twisting its pliant wings, engineers are developing versatile and flexible flying machines expected to undergo radical shape changes in flight.
- Health & Medicine
Testing Times
Relying in part on a new rapid HIV test, health officials are working to identify and treat more HIV infections earlier in the course of the disease.
- Humans
Munching Along
New Orleans' French Quarter has become a central proving ground for new technologies to find and attack the North American invasion of especially aggressive and resourceful alien termites.
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Vision Seekers
An investigation of school-age children who received cataract surgery after being blind from birth examines the extent to which these kids are able to perceive the visual world and the ways in which their brains respond to newfound sight.
- Planetary Science
Moonopolies
Recently discovered tiny satellites, all orbiting the outer planets in strange paths, may shed new light on a critical last phase in the formation of the planets.
- Earth
Attack of the Rock-Eating Microbes!
Geologists who examine mineral transformations increasingly see bacteria at work, leading the scientists to conclude that if microbes aren't driving the underlying chemical reactions, at least they're taking advantage of the energy that's released.
- Plants
Micro Sculptors
Snippets of RNA that control biochemical reactions by squelching the creation of specific proteins play a role in the development of leaves.
- Planetary Science
Martian Invasion
If all goes according to plan, three spacecraft—one in December, two in January—will land on the Red Planet, looking for evidence that liquid water once flowed on its surface.
- Math
The Shape of Space
The debate over the shape of space has taken some new twists with the analysis of satellite snapshots of the universe's temperature waves.
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Beast Buddies
As researchers muse about the evolutionary origins of friendship, even the social interactions of giraffes are getting a second look.
- Physics
A Spin through Space-Time
After 40 years of preparation, satellite Gravity Probe B is scheduled to launch next month and test the prediction that massive bodies, such as Earth, twist space itself as they rotate.
